Sea Foam stabilizer

[EMD360]

I thought I’d try sea foam for winter. I had read general accounts-fill up and add a can then run long enough with the generator running to get the treated gas through the system.
I bought two cans to try but the directions are confusing me. Calls for one ounce for every gallon of gas. 55 oz? Really? Then directions are to add to a low tank of gas for a higher concentration as it runs through the engine. Can’t do that I filled it for the winter already.
Is one can enough for storage? Do you really add 4 or more cans when storing your RV?

[Bordercollie]

See my post with question on Gumout VS Seafoam re: Today's fuels with alcohol.

[Grit_dog]

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
Seafoam is great stuff. I can run 100 mph after drin

Drunk posting?

[NamMedevac_70]

Seafoam is great stuff. I can run 100 mph after drin

[RambleOnNW]

I use Stabil in the MH tank prior to filling with gas at the specified rate of 1 Oz per 2.5 gallons of gas (22 oz. In 55 gal. Tank) when not using it in the winter. I do take it out for a drive and run the generator once a month. Never had a problem. Also use Stabil in a Honda EU3000IS generator at 2 oz. per 2.5 gal. of gas also in a couple of gas cans. Recently changed out the gas after 18 months and dumped the gas in the car tank. Had no driving issues.

[Gjac]

EMD360 wrote:
So I don’t need the sea foam at all unless I wanted to clean the generator. We are leaving Feb 12th. I have no idea how to draw sea foam into just the generator. Thanks for the tip but that will take way more study. Guess I’ll just keep the sea foam for next year. And buy two more cans then. And put it in before I fill up. Good advice.

Just remove the hose that draws from the tank and insert 3 ft of the same ID hose into a can that you can mix the Seafoam with gas. Seafoam will keep the carb from gumming up over the winter months as will Stabil and other products. I like Seafoam because it does both. You are not talking years of non use only over the winter months.

[AJR]

An almost empty (1/8 maybe) large gas tank filled with non-ethanol gas has started every gas engine I have ever owned for many years two or three springs down the line of no use.

Ethanol is the issue being discussed.

Don’t use it on your last tank or two of gas and no problem come spring. Yep, run the generator, right before you put the camper to bed, for an hour with real gas going to it.

I know it may cost more. But piece of mind, for me, has no price.

[4x4van]

path1 wrote:
here's my reasoning. When these things are made, the installation of the fuel line goes from gas tank to generator, holes are drilled in top of fuel tank for the generator fuel line. Those drill fillings fall to the bottom of fuel tank. but newer units are plastic, and don't know if material of tank makes a difference. My tank is alum After years of being sitting at bottom of fuel tank they sort of get stuck. Add something to clean the system such as seafoam and they get unstuck and get sucked up in fuel line and make there way to the engine fuel filter and plug it up. Then the fuel filter goes into "bypass" mode and then plugs of the injectors. More specifically the little tiny screens that some injectors have (such as my 5.4 ford triton.) Injectors at the time $75 each or spend about 4 hours with a bright light and twizzers and magnifying glass picking out junk. Does not include time learning how coil over plugs work and getting to injectors removing and installing back in.

There's so much wrong with this post, I don't even know where to begin. But suffice to say that fuel tanks are not "drilled" for the installation of generator fuel lines. If you had **** in your tank, it was not from the installation of the generator fuel line, and it didn't get "stirred up" by Seafoam. I also don't know of any fuel filter with a "bypass" mode.

[EMD360]

So I don’t need the sea foam at all unless I wanted to clean the generator. We are leaving Feb 12th. I have no idea how to draw sea foam into just the generator. Thanks for the tip but that will take way more study. Guess I’ll just keep the sea foam for next year. And buy two more cans then. And put it in before I fill up. Good advice.

[Grit_dog]

Gjac wrote:
If you don't want to use 4 cans put 1/2 a can in a 1/2 gal container and draw from it rather than your 55 gal tank. I would run it to temp to clean the carb then shut off with a full bowel of concentrated Seafoam. Berryman's Chemtool B12 also works to clean carbs and is about 1/2 the price. Does that mean it works half as good?

Great input, if this wasn't about fuel stabilizing, which B12 is not a fuel stabilizer. (And after starting the thread, the OP just said he doesn't need to stabilize the fuel anyway.)

[Gjac]

If you don't want to use 4 cans put 1/2 a can in a 1/2 gal container and draw from it rather than your 55 gal tank. I would run it to temp to clean the carb then shut off with a full bowel of concentrated Seafoam. Berryman's Chemtool B12 also works to clean carbs and is about 1/2 the price. Does that mean it works half as good?

[Grit_dog]

A month? Not an issue

[EMD360]

I like the post that says use half. Nice to get enough advice to pick and choose huh? 🙂 For years I have believed the old wives tale to not let the gas tank sit below full. As it is I didn’t quite fill it due to a gas limit because I use a grocery store discount. In Colorado regular has had more ethanol. Something about the elevation. It’s reading full which is good enough. I have not replaced the fuel filters in this almost one year of ownership RV. I’ve had it in to a mechanic who did not add it to the list of small things that needed to be done including cleaning off the battery and replacing a broken lamp cover that I had not noticed. So it seemed the check up was pretty thorough.
We did not use the generator much in the decade we owned the 22e. I serviced it once. I had the carb replaced and it was serviced then. I bought a spark plug but could not figure out how to change it. Now I will change the oil in this new generator when we get to warm weather. I have been exercising the generator and I usually did the old one if not every month. But we usually only use it for air conditioning on the road. Or briefly in the morning for coffee. Now that I have an inverter and solar I didn’t even use it for that last time we were without hookups. But it was fall and no need for air conditioning. So I will use what I bought. Drive around and try to get some in the generator at half concentration. It will only sit about a month now before our next trip. So probably over thinking anyway. I just really like hearing what you all have to say. I’m still learning. Thanks.

[Grit_dog]

Fwiw, I can all but guarantee that Seafoam in your fuel does not nor will not cause any of the issues mentioned above.
And if I’m wrong, I stand corrected, but I’ve never heard of a “bypass” mode on a fuel filter that will just send trash downstream. I’m very skeptical of this

[path1]

I see "former rental club" in your signature. In the long rental post I posted what happened to me after using Sea Foam. A search here doesn't turn up in searches over 12 months old.
Hopefully you won't have same problem, but beware. And maybe RV units are manufactured differently now compared to my 2013 model. I don't think any rental place adds seafoam to their units, but no surprise there.
I added some seafoam and within 200 miles injectors got plugged up. Of course when this happened I had no idea what was going on other I thought maybe fuel filter was bad, even though I changed every filter and fluid on the thing right after buying it.
Sorting out the problem...Talking with an injector business called Dr injector and a retired school bus mechanic neighbor next block over. here's my reasoning. When these things are made, the installation of the fuel line goes from gas tank to generator, holes are drilled in top of fuel tank for the generator fuel line. Those drill fillings fall to the bottom of fuel tank. but newer units are plastic, and don't know if material of tank makes a difference. My tank is alum After years of being sitting at bottom of fuel tank they sort of get stuck. Add something to clean the system such as seafoam and they get unstuck and get sucked up in fuel line and make there way to the engine fuel filter and plug it up. Then the fuel filter goes into "bypass" mode and then plugs of the injectors. More specifically the little tiny screens that some injectors have (such as my 5.4 ford triton.) Injectors at the time $75 each or spend about 4 hours with a bright light and twizzers and magnifying glass picking out junk. Does not include time learning how coil over plugs work and getting to injectors removing and installing back in.

What I would do...put on new fuel filter now , engine and generator (if generator has one) then change first 100 miles, then every 150-200 miles for about 1,000 miles, and carry a spare filter and (if Ford, those fuel line wrenches about $15.00)